Dick Allen (21 March 1944 – 6 February 2007) was a film editor who worked both as a freelancer and for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. During his career he received two British Academy awards (

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

) for best film editor; one for his work on the TV film adaptation ''

Hotel du Lac ''Hotel du Lac'' is a 1984 novel by English writer Anita Brookner. It centres on Edith Hope, a romance novelist who is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva. There she meets other English visitors, including Mrs Pusey, Mrs Pusey's ...

'', and the other on the TV mini series ''

Portrait of a Marriage ''Portrait of a Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson'' is the 1973 biography of writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West compiled by her son Nigel Nicolson from her journals and letters. Synopsis The book relates to Sackville-West ...

''.

Biography

Dick Allen (christened Richard Allen), was born in London, England, and grew up in nearby

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He attended

Ardingly College Ardingly College () is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public school (UK), public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, before taking an apprenticeship at

aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred solely to ''ope ...

manufacturer

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

at their base in Brooklands near

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

. He joined the

in 1964 after he was recommended by a friend, and stayed in their employment for 28 years, first in the film library and eventually as a film editor. By 1973, he was a film editor in his own right, in demand for his services. He worked on some of the corporations major documentary series, such as

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

's The Tribal Eye, as well as dramas and comedies of the 1970s and 1980s. He received two

awards, the first in 1986 for his work on ''

'', and then again in 1991 for ''

''. He left the

in the same year but continued to work until the birth of his son in 1994 when he gave up editing to be a father. He also had two children from his first marriage; a daughter in 1969 and a son in 1971. He died in 2007 at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dick 1944 births 2007 deaths People educated at Ardingly College British film editors